Jesus is not a religion but a relationship with God

Category Archives: Crucified

“But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. Acts 3:18

The second sermon given by Peter revealed how Jesus Christ has been foretold throughout the entire Bible. Even since the book of Genesis all the way through Revelation, Jesus Christ has been revealed to the world. Prophets like Moses, Isaiah , and Daniel all spoke of the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

And even though Jesus was revealed through the scriptures, the people still didn’t recognize him in the flesh. And not only did they reject him but had him tortured and crucified on a Roman cross. The Messiah that was promised by all the prophets through the Holy Spirit, was murdered by his own people

“For you first, God raised up His Servant and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways.” Acts 3:26

God raised up his only begotten Son, the suffering servant, who took the wrath of all our sins, so we can be justified before our Heavenly Father. The time has come for everyone to repent, the blood is on all our hands.

Only Christ, can save us from the curse of death, repent and receive his salvation in Jesus Name Amen!

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth. Acts 1:8

These are the last words Jesus spoke before he ascended into Heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father. Jesus said “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon You”.

Often as Christians we feel helpless and maybe even forgotten, but God has said he will never leave or forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6) God has fulfilled this promise by the arrival of The Holy Spirit. Now wherever you go or whatever circumstance you may be facing, The Holy Spirit dwells inside you and you receive his power!

Some might say, “I don’t feel powerful” or maybe you feel totally defeated. Remember we are fighting a spiritual warfare not a physical one. Think about when Jesus went to the cross, from a physical standpoint, he seemed weak and even defeated. But what the world didn’t realize is on the cross, Jesus defeated sin, death, and Satan! Jesus won the war of our souls and Gods Kingdom

Jesus went on to say “We are his witnesses, not just in Jerusalem but to the entire world”. When you accept Christ as your Lord and Savior and are baptized by The Holy Spirit, you are a Child of God! Its time to be a witness for Christ, this is not optional its an obligation as a Christian!

Spread the gospel to all the nations in the name of The Father, Son , and Holy Spirit Amen!

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, John 11:25

At this moment life seemed hopeless for Lazarus family; he had been dead for over four days already. A whirlwind of emotions had been going on , Martha was angry with Jesus, if he had only been here sooner, she said. Jesus was overcome with emotion, he wept as he saw Lazarus motionless body and the mourning of his family.

and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this? John 11:26

But Jesus said anyone who believes in him will never die, he was about to perform a miracle that nobody could dispute who Jesus really is. Before Jesus arrived he told his disciples that this sickeness would not be the end of Lazarus (John 11:4) His disciples at the time didn’t know Lazarus was already dead, so they didn’t understand what Jesus was prophesying at that time.

Jesus asked Martha “Do you believe this?” Meaning do you believe Jesus is God in the flesh, the one who can give and take away life? Martha didn’t hesitate she said Yes Lord I believe! Her faith saved her brother’s life, Do you believe?

Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” John 11:40

Jesus confirmed what he prophesied to raise Lazarus from the dead based on faith, because Martha believed with all her heart, mind, and soul who Jesus is, he delivered Lazarus. After Jesus prayed to the Father, he then commanded Lazarus to Come Forth!

Jesus spoke the dead back to life, just like he can speak our dry bones back to life also. Jesus is The Resurrection, he holds the key to life and death, nobody comes to the Father except through Christ in Jesus Name Amen!

and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead? “He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, Luke 24:5-6

If you are seeking Jesus, don’t look for him among the dead, Jesus has Risen, he is alive forevermore. On that Sunday morning, the stone was rolled away from the tomb, sin and death were defeated for good. We have ultimate victory through Jesus Christ!

So why do many still seek for help among the mortal and the dead? Why wouldn’t you put your faith and trust in the One who holds the keys to life and death (Revelation 1:18) Jesus is the first born of the dead (Colossians 1:18) meaning Jesus defeated death and rose with an immortal and perfect body, sitting on the throne as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Even if you rejected Christ, the resurrection has impacted your life. The greatest moment in world history occurred that Sunday morning. Our calendars, holidays, and seasons are all based around the Resurrection of Christ. This moment changed the world forever, question is did you allow Jesus to change your life forever yet?

If you want to find Christ, look up at the sky, don’t look at the grave of other false prophets , false gods , and false religions because He is Risen! Victory over death is ours in Jesus Name Amen!

“For when she poured this perfume on My body, she did it to prepare Me for burial. Matthew 26:12

As we continue our “Quest to The Cross” we reflect on a moment where Jesus was given a gracious offering by a woman in Bethany. The first take away from this moment was , even though the woman was poor, she poured the perfume over Christ, which was a very costly perfume. Probably cost a years wages

The disciples, specifically Judas rebuked her saying she is wasting money. However Jesus quickly defends the woman by saying “But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you bother the woman? For she has done a good deed to Me.” (Matthew 26:10)

Case in point don’t worry what others have to say about your offering to God, he reads our hearts and minds, and knows this offering was her best. Don’t allow the world to interfere or take you away from your worship to Christ. Just like the woman, your offering will be noticed

The next take away is without this woman even knowing she was helping to fulfill prophecy. This expensive perfume was preparing the Lord Jesus Christs body to be our atonement sacrifice at the cross (Matthew 26:12). Even through the blood and agony his body endured, that strong scent was probably still there

“Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her.” Matthew 26:13

From a theological perspective, this moment of the woman pouring perfume on Christ may seem insignificant. However Jesus thought it was important enough to remember this woman always. As you prepare for Passover (Good Friday) and throughout Holy Week, remember the offering and sacrifice Jesus made for us and he will remember yours also Amen

He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves!” Matthew 21:13

As we begin this Holy Week, Jesus makes his first stop to cleanse the Holy Temple. The Holy Temple which was built , not only to worship God, but the place on Earth where God resided. However the Holy Temple of God has been turned more into a corporation than a house of prayer, where selling of merchandise , had become higher priority than true worship of God

Jesus showed his disgust by overthrowing tables and chasing the merchants out! Often we only hear about a watered down version of Jesus , but here Jesus would not allow his Father’s house to be desecrated.

Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 1 Corinthians 3:16

Today if you’re a Christian, you are the temple of God. The Holy Spirit dwells in you, just as he did in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. Is your Temple Holy or desecrated? Are you allowing Jesus to cleanse out your Temple or are you conforming to the ways of the world?

Its important as Christians, we continually reflect on the current state of our faith. Would Jesus be pleased with the current condition of your spiritual life or would be overthrowing tables?

This Holy Week lets make a strong commitment to keep our Holy Temples pure in Jesus Name Amen!

And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. Luke 9:23

When we look at Christianity today, it has become the exact opposite of what Jesus taught. Preachers have not become more like “self help” salesmen rather than ministers of God. Everyone is looking for “ their best life now”, looking for prosperity and fame.

Jesus is telling us to “Get over ourselves”, stop worrying or pursing the things of this world. Give up the lust for the things of this world and pursue righteousness with God. This is obviously hard for many to do as we are carnally minded. But until we “Deny Ourselves” we can’t become a true Christian

“For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. Luke 9:24

Jesus even goes one step further, if you continue to live carnally minded for the world, you will lose your life. The only way to gain eternal life, is to be crucified with Christ. Most people when they see the cross, they only see Christ on their. However we must all become crucified and resurrected to be “Born Again”

If you want eternal life, you must lose this carnal life first. You can’t live in the flesh and expect to walk in The Spirit. Take up your cross daily, humble yourself, be willing to suffer for the Kingdom of God is at hand in Jesus Name Amen!

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 1 Corinthians 1:18

As we looked back on the life of Billy Graham, one reason his ministry was so effective was because he kept it simple. He preached the message of the cross! This is the place we should all start when preaching the gospel, because without repentance there can’t be any transformation.

In todays world, I believe many modern preachers have abandoned this message to combat the Atheist movement. Instead of us talking about the cross and what Jesus did for all humanity, we talk about fossil records and aging measuring techniques. Don’t get me wrong, I love apologetics , however sometimes it feels like we get tied into endless arguments and never talk about Jesus Christ.

But you say “the message of the cross is foolishness” to all the Atheists, Muslims, Hindu’s, and everyone else that rejected Christ. Yeah that’s precisely the point, we can chase our tails to try and appease non believers, or we can just give them the gospel straight and leave it up to them to decide.

Whether the Earth is old or new, flat or round, doesn’t really matter in the final moments of life. The real moment that matters is did you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, did you repent of your sins? Is the message of the cross foolish to you or is it the love and power of God in Jesus Name Amen!

The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: Fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. Ecclesiastes 12:13

A person who doesn’t “Fear God”, is the most dangerous person in the world. Because without the Fear of God there is no morality or love. With all the violence and blood shed happening around our country and world, the “Fear of God” needs to be brought back more than ever

Everyone is looking for a reason and a solution to all the madness happening in our society today. They want to blame it on guns, blame it on mental illness, blame it on our authorities, but the core of the issue is , with no respect or knowledge of God, there will be no cure.

We were all made in Gods image, we were taught by Jesus Christ to “Love our Neighbor as ourselves” . But when society removes Jesus and tells our children that God doesn’t exist, then society starts to collapse. Where does our morality come from then? What is the purpose for the human race?

The Hebrew word for “Fear” is “Yirah” meaning “Awesomeness” or “Reverence” . When we “Fear God” we don’t react to him like a dictator, we stand back and look at the sky and the ocean, and stand in awe of his Creation. We stand in “Reverence” that even though we were sinners, Christ went to the cross and died for us out of love.

If we want to bring this country and world back, we need to bring us back to “Fear God”, to understand we are created in our Heavenly Fathers image, to know he counts every hair on our head, to know right from wrong, to know Christ has given us eternal life in Jesus Name Amen!

And that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 1 Corinthians 15:4
Paul wrote this letter to the Church of Corinth around 54-55 A.D., this was only around 25 years after the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This letter not only confirmed the authenticity of the crucifixion and resurrection, but became the early Creed for Christianity.

Paul’s conversion to Christ at the road of Damascus was around 34-35 A.D. only a few years after Christ rose from the grave. That means there was little time for any false stories to be generated about Jesus. The details Paul gave us in the Epistle, was accurate information straight from Jesus Christ.

There were many eye witnesses of Christ resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:6) that were still alive when Paul made this creed. Therefore if it was incorrect, it would have been rebuked or corrected by fellow Christians and his fellow Apostles.

saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised up on the third day.” Luke 9:22

Jesus made this prophecy to his disciples while he was with them, but they didn’t understand what he was saying at the time. This prophecy was not only clearly fulfilled but then accurately documented by Paul in the Creed of Christianity (1 Corinthians 15:4)

Thank you Lord Jesus for taking the wages of our sins and defeating death Amen!